Seocho gimbap restaurant with terrace seating and crispy chicken: Halls

Halls Gimbap Main Branch (홀스김밥본점), a great snack-food spot near Gyodae Station in Seocho, is said to be a fresh new start for the former Ot Gimbap Seocho, carrying on all its original flavor and care!

The owner, the gimbap-making aunties, counter staff, crispy-chicken staff, sauces, flavors, cooking tools, and even the freshness are all exactly the same, so regulars have apparently kept coming back. Since I was near Gyodae Station, I had to visit too 😊

Ordering and inside Halls Gimbap Main Branch

Once inside, I found the kiosk with Halls Gimbap’s signature horse character. Ordering was easy—done at the kiosk.

A look around inside Halls Gimbap 👀 Since it is a gimbap place that is great for eating alone near Gyodae Station, there were plenty of bar-table seats.

There was also a fridge stocked with all sorts of drinks.

Next to it was a self-service bar with a water dispenser and katsuobushi (bonito-flake) broth. The broth had no added seasonings, so it tasted very clean and wholesome 😋

And, as you would expect from a gimbap place, they sold all kinds of cup noodles. Gimbap and ramyeon are basically a Korean rule, haha.

One thing that surprised me while looking around: they even had hair ties at this gimbap place, so people with long hair can put it up and eat in battle mode without any hassle, hahaha. Wet wipes and hand sanitizer were ready too.

I heard it is popular with Gyodae Station office workers, so I deliberately came late in the afternoon—but there was still this huge takeout order on the middle table. How many rolls is that even,, 🫢🫢 There were around six or seven staff members, and they were processing orders with incredible efficiency.

Everyone looked so busy that I took a seat outside on the terrace so I would not get in the way. I’m a scaredy-cat, haha.

Double-cheese egg gimbap and Jindo green-onion tuna gimbap

Ta-da! Today’s order was S-size crispy chicken plus a half-and-half gimbap of double-cheese egg and Jindo green-onion tuna! 🧡🧡🧡

Here came the colorful gimbap, with its fillings clearly visible, and crispy chicken tucked under a blanket of Cheongyang chili peppers.

I started with the double-cheese egg gimbap. It had a huge egg omelet, carrot, pickled radish, cheese, perilla leaf, and brown rice. It was gently seasoned and delicious—and seemed much more filling than I expected,,!

Next, the Jindo green-onion tuna gimbap! Tuna, perilla leaf, cabbage, pickled radish, green onion, all wrapped in brown rice. Tuna gimbap usually makes you think of tuna drowning in mayonnaise, but Halls Gimbap’s was packed with tuna’s own nutty flavor instead of mayo, making it taste healthier 👍

Thin, crispy S-size chicken

Next was the crispy chicken topped with Cheongyang chili peppers. The batter was incredibly thin and crunchy, while the chicken inside was so tender—so good. Honestly, Halls Gimbap is a crispy-chicken spot!!!!!!! Next time I need to get the large size!!!

They had half-and-half set menus too, but I had gone after working out and was starving, so I ordered a whole chicken and a whole gimbap. It was almost two portions, yet I finished it all, hahaha. I can’t handle spice, so I picked out only the milder Cheongyang peppers and left the rest, haha.

Terrace seating with the lovely sound of the wind

While I ate on the terrace, a gentle breeze made this shhhh✨ shhhh✨ sound. It was so pretty that I immediately pulled out my camera and filmed it. Wait, this is Gyodae Station, but the atmosphere felt like a temple 🪷

• Filling handmade gimbap: gimbap made with fresh ingredients and familiar, practiced hands, satisfying even with just one roll.
• Addictive crispy, sweet chicken: crisp-fried chicken with a house sauce, a popular pairing with gimbap.
• Unchanged flavor and care: the owner, staff, sauces, and cooking methods are said to retain the taste longtime customers loved.
• A hearty meal for Gyodae Station office workers: quick and easy for office lunches, takeout, or snacks.
• Walkable from Gyodae Station: near Exit 1, making it easy to stop by.